NFC Championship Game: Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints

Monday Night Football: San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers

After dropping two of their last three games, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers will look to tame C.J. Beathard and the visiting San Francisco 49ers when the two NFC playoff hopefuls square off in their Week 6 clash on Monday Night Football. Frisco will have their own fair share of ‘desperation’ as they look to snap a discouraging three-game losing streak and the season-ending loss of franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

Now, let’s find out if the Packers can cover the chalk as a nearly double-digit home favorite or if Beathard and the Niners are the picks to either win outright or cover the chalk.

San Francisco 49ers (1-4)

Frisco dropped their third straight by losing to Arizona 28-18 at home while failing to cover the spread as a 3-point favorite. The Niners have been free-falling since losing franchise signal-caller Jimmy Garoppolo three weeks ago to a torn ACL. Despite out-gaining the Cardinals 470-220, San Fransisco came up well short of getting a win because of five costly turnovers. Quarterback C.J. Beathard went 34 of 54 for 349 yards and two touchdowns, but also tossed the pair of aforementioned interceptions.

“You look at a lot of those (stats), it’s hard to find how you lost a game,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Then it’s very easy when you look at the turnover column. I haven’t been part of any game, I don’t think many people have, where five turnovers to zero leads to a win. We have to improve that drastically to have a chance.”

Green Bay Packers

The Packers were completely subdued from the outset in their 31-23 road loss at Detroit while never coming close to covering the spread as a 1-point underdog in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicates. The Packers saw veteran kicker Mason Crosby miss a career-high four field goals and an extra point while Aaron Rodgers lost two fumbles for just the third time in his 14-year career. Rodgers went 32 of 52 for 442 yards with three TD passes, but the Packers could not overcome a slow start that led to them being down 24-0 at the half.

Expert Pick and Prediction

Okay, YouWager NFL betting buffs, I’ve got to admit. While I am not very impressed with Green Bay this season, just as I predicted in the preseason, I’m going to advise you to back Aaron Rodgers and the Packers here simply because San Francisco just isn’t very good with C.J. Beathard under center. Admittedly, I like Beathard and I think he’ll stick around the league for several years, the fact of the matter is that San Francisco is not nearly the same team they are without Jimmy Garoppolo starting as they are with him in the lineup.

The 49ers are just 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games against their NFC counterparts and a discouraging 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall while the Packers have gone 5-1 ATS in their last 6 home games against a team with a losing road record and a blistering 19-9-1 ATS in their last 29 games in the month of October. I’m thinking Green bay wins and covers by simply outscoring the Niners.